Tag: Disney winter cartoons

A Walt Disney Winter: Top Ten Snow Scenes in Disney Animated Features

All across the country this February, we’ve been inundated with winter weather. At the time of this writing, Texas has been without power for way too long, due to a crushing storm, and that system has blown across to the Atlantic, dropping snow and ice as it has traveled. Perhaps, even with the few snow storms we’ve had in 2021, we might be ready for balmy, spring and summer weather. In the interest of remembering the winter chill with warm feelings rather than bitterness that rivals the wind chill factor, I thought it fitting to consider the best, most charming, most romantic, nostalgic winter scenes in the history of Disney.

With that in mind, here are ten snow scenes from Disney that will warm your heart better than any bonfire.

  1. FANTASIA (1940):

It’s true that on my list of ten, Fantasia is the oldest, but it’s also the perfect start, because in Disney’s Fantasia, the Nutcracker Suite takes us through all four seasons, with the Waltz of the Flowers moving from fall to winter.

One of the things I’ve noticed at the gallery is that when kids love Fantasia, (and bear with me, because I’m sure this seems weird) they tend to be really smart. In the 28 years that I’ve owned an art gallery, I’ve seen lots of these kids grow up, and the Fantasia fans are all doctors, professors, and other professions that require optimal brainpower.

The original production cels and concept art from Fantasia are always beautiful as art, beyond as a means to an end. The ink work on the surface of the cels is intricate, often in multiple colors, and in the case of the fairies, many have diaphanous wings. You can see examples of some of the concept art and cel work from Fantasia, HERE.

2. BAMBI (1942)

I know the scenes in snow from Bambi can bring back traumatic memories from kids who remember Bambi’s loss, but the scene where Bambi learns to walk on ice is one of the most charming (and technologically advanced in terms of character action for the time) sequences ever at Disney. The backgrounds by Tyrus Wong combined with the sweet friendship captured between Bambi and Thumper in this scene work to make the film a favorite across time and across generations.

3. MAKE MINE MUSIC (1946): Peter and the Wolf

For those who know Peter and the Wolf from bedtime stories or, if you have musician parents, from Prokofiev, Disney’s version brought the characters and music into vivid life. The composer met Disney during a tour of the west in 1938, and played the piece on piano for him. Sterling Holloway, who is best known as the voice of Winnie the Pooh, was the original narrator. The whole story takes place in the snow, and it perfectly evocative of winter. Here’s the short with David Bowie doing the narration!

4. LADY AND THE TRAMP (1955)

There are two scenes that take place at Christmastime in Lady and the Tramp, but only one actually shows the snow and ice. The last scene in the movie captures Jock and Trusty coming to visit Lady, Tramp, and their growing family, braving winter (even with Trusty’s broken paw) to do so. One of my favorite images from Disney Fine Art is of the canine family outside their house in the snow, and it’s done by Rodel Gonzalez. You can see it HERE.

5. 101 DALMATIANS (1960)

I’m sure you Disney fans will agree, when you think of Disney and snow, you think of 101 Dalmatians, and the intrepid mom and dad ushering their own and their adoptive pups through the driving snow, away from Cruella, and back to the safety of Roger and Anita. This is a very popular scene for art collectors who love the movie, but many forget just how miserable the dogs are for most of their trek. Still, there’s no question it’s beautifully animated. If you dig Dalmatians, you can find official art and production cels on our site HERE. All I can say is, poor pups! These are some great parents…

https://youtu.be/FvA-VhFONTU

6. SWORD AND THE STONE (1963)

One of the most iconic moments that represent literature (loosely, I’ll grant you) is the moment Wart pulls the sword from the stone in Disney’s 1963 version of the Arthurian legend by T.H.White. The film is often forgotten in the lists of best Disney films, but it was a box office success at the time. Disney had bought the rights to the White’s novel all the way back in 1939, but much like The Little Mermaid, it took decades to come to the screen. Some of the best minds and talents in animation worked on the film, including story artist Bill Peet, art director Ken Anderson, background artist Walt Peregoy, and animators Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Les Clark, Eric Larson, and Don Lusk. Floyd Norman (who has a great documentary about his life in animation) was an assistant animator on the film, and it leveraged the genius of composers The Sherman Brothers. Iconic!

7. THE RESCUERS (1977)

Little is as charming as classy mouse Bianca, played by Ava Gabor, dressed in winter attire. Even better is witnessing the very sweet relationship between her and Bernard (Bob Newhart). Spies, orphans, diamonds, and bats come together to tell as story that was well received the world over. The Rescuers has one of animator Milt Kahl’s best and favorite creations in Madame Medusa. Alls well that ends well, even in the midst of snow and ice, as you see here in the last scene of the films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItWCRj0Ep6s

8. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1993)

Few would argue that the snow scenes in Beauty and the Beast are some of the most romantic and memorable in Disney’s history. It was a film that was loved and held a special place in the hearts of those who worked on it, as you can see in the documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty about the Disney renaissance. The song “Something There” shows Belle and the beast getting closer and Belle seeing the sweeter side of her furry friend/soon to be beloved. There is a lot of animation art that captures this scene, one of which you can find HERE. Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle, is one of the official artists creating art based on the film, (much of which is very muc about snow!) and you can find their work HERE.

https://youtu.be/nwZEcdBMLLU

9. MONSTERS INC. (2001)

“What?”, you say? Toy Story has snow? Two words: Abominable Snowman. The scenes that start with Mike and Sully finding themselves in sub-zero temps with no idea how to get back are some of the most exciting and memorable of the whole film. How wonderful that Mike and Sully meet a new friend and show how well they work together as best friends!

There’s not much official art of Monsters Inc., but official Disney artist Tim Rogerson made a great piece, complete with the Abominable Snowman, representing all your favorite characters from this great cartoon! You can find it HERE.

10. FROZEN (2013)

It’s good that I can to begin and end this blog post with iconic winter scenes, and finishing off the 10 Disney snow scenes is a film that is really all about winter. I mean, ‘the cold never bothered me anyway’ continues to be on the lips of fans all over the world. The highest-grossing Disney film of all time, Frozen also had one of the longest incubation periods, with the first thoughts of turning it into a feature starting in 1937. For many years it was going under the title “The Snow Queen”, and in fact, I remember speaking to friends inside the studio in the 1990s who were working on treatments and ideas for it. The focus by animators and story artists was to be as realistic as possible in terms of capturing Norway’s fjords and the naturalistic environments, so much so that, for example, they brought a live reindeer named Sage to the studio to study. The name Frozen was meant not only to speak to the frigid world of Arendelle, but also the frozen relationships and Elsa’s frozen heart that needed to be thawed. In that respect, the cold weather, the snow and the ice, were a way of advancing story and character in a way that hadn’t been done before at Disney. The perfect example of that is in the song ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman”:

If you love this Academy Award winning animated feature, you can find some great art that celebrates Frozen on our website, HERE.

I leave you with the usual “Covid Comfort Cartoon”, and this week, it’s Chip & Dale’s third cartoon, “Chip an’ Dale”. It’s all comfort, while capturing the chipmunk characters to a T.

Stay warm, my animation-loving friends!